Study in Myanmar

Long history and traditions in education

Myanmar (also known as Burma) is a Southeast Asian country bordered by Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Laos and China. In the past, Burma was highly appreciated for its mass literacy and high-quality education standards. When it was a British colony from 1820’s to 1940’s, Burma expanded education system and literacy rate was dramatically increased.

Nowadays, Myanmar continues developing its history and tradition in education. Especially, higher education in Myanmar has been reformed and improved tremendously since 1988. All universities are under the administration of the Ministry of Education. They aim at cultivating the access, quality and diversity of higher education. The government also boosts Myanmar economy so that there would be more investments in education in the future.

Teaching in Myanmar is research-oriented. Universities can award Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees, and Doctorate degrees. The higher education follows a 4-1-3 year system, which means 4 years for a Bachelor’s degree, 1 year of qualifying classes, and 3 years for a Master’s degree.

University entrance opportunity is based on students’ tenth grade standard examination marks. The Ministry of Education runs the matriculation exams, which occur at the same time annually around the country. Some universities set a minimum exam score for the acceptance for the university. Usually medical school requires the highest exam scores.

Myanmar doesn’t require students much money to study and live. A meal in an inexpensive restaurant will cost them around $3.00 while a Coke or Pepsi is worth of $0.73. One-way ticket and monthly passes for public transportation are affordable as well. Without needing much money, students still can study, travel and enjoy cultural diversity of the 100 ethnic groups in Myanmar.